Nothing Said 'Trouble' Louder Than a Young Girl in Blue Jeans
June 28, 2023 12:18 PM Subscribe
The Scandalous History of Lady Jeans [Note: Twitter thread]
Denim: Heavily Linked to Wholesome Living!
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:51 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:51 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was 9 in 1972 and our family car drove past a couple teenage girls wearing cutoffs so short the front pocket linings were visible and I never really got over it. (just saying it was an entirely new and shocking fashion statement at the time)
posted by brachiopod at 1:47 PM on June 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by brachiopod at 1:47 PM on June 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
I remember an episode of I Love Lucy where Ethel was scandalized at Lucy's suggestion that she should ride the subway in her blue jeans.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:23 PM on June 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:23 PM on June 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
My grandmother (born in the late 1800s) wore jeans sometimes because she worked in her garden. They were work wear. And I have worn jeans all my 71 years, except when I was wearing a school uniform, because they were hardy. The media have always loved flapping their hands about what the youngs wore.
posted by Peach at 2:29 PM on June 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Peach at 2:29 PM on June 28, 2023 [10 favorites]
In 197-something, I enrolled at the American school in Düsseldorf. I came from very posh schools in England where we wore blue/grey woolen uniforms. It was generally traumatic to suddenly have to have individual taste and clothing. After a while, I tried to explain to my mum that I needed cut-off jeans. She did try. She cut one pair of jeans with tailors' zigzag shears. I hope someone here will understand how off the mark that was.
After a mad road trip through Europe, we settled in Denmark. Here, we still had no idea at all about casual clothing. I mean, I tried to explain it to our parents, but I didn't have any words. My aunt was actually a style leader in the counter culture world, but she wasn't of much help to me, since I realized my parents would never go all the way.
My gran wore overalls, at her farm, but she was quite conformist about what to wear in the city. That said, at the end of the day, she bought the overalls and jeans I wore most of the time as a kid.
posted by mumimor at 2:48 PM on June 28, 2023 [8 favorites]
After a mad road trip through Europe, we settled in Denmark. Here, we still had no idea at all about casual clothing. I mean, I tried to explain it to our parents, but I didn't have any words. My aunt was actually a style leader in the counter culture world, but she wasn't of much help to me, since I realized my parents would never go all the way.
My gran wore overalls, at her farm, but she was quite conformist about what to wear in the city. That said, at the end of the day, she bought the overalls and jeans I wore most of the time as a kid.
posted by mumimor at 2:48 PM on June 28, 2023 [8 favorites]
To be fair, pockets on at least some brands of women’s jeans used to be longer.
posted by eviemath at 3:53 PM on June 28, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 3:53 PM on June 28, 2023 [9 favorites]
Even as late as the year 1984, the idea of lady jeans could still evoke at least a hint of scandal, as attested by Mel McDaniel's number one country hit, "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On."
posted by demonic winged headgear at 4:05 PM on June 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by demonic winged headgear at 4:05 PM on June 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
did anyone else live in those pockets of culture when a teenage girl required the assistance of her friend to remove her tight jeans? I am not sure what inspired that look (usually accompanied by some version of 'acid wash' aesthetic) but it was certainly prominent in the hair metal videos of the period
posted by elkevelvet at 7:08 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by elkevelvet at 7:08 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
did anyone else live in those pockets of culture...
Speaking of pockets, I love all the big fat roomy pockets in all those jeans and overalls and absolutely freaking hate current jeans with their stupid little baby pockets.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 7:50 AM on June 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
Speaking of pockets, I love all the big fat roomy pockets in all those jeans and overalls and absolutely freaking hate current jeans with their stupid little baby pockets.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 7:50 AM on June 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think I've seen depictions of young women lying on their bed struggling to zip up the zipper on super-tight jeans with pliers for extra grip since the 60s.
posted by hippybear at 7:56 AM on June 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 7:56 AM on June 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
hippybear: I think I've seen depictions of young women lying on their bed struggling to zip up the zipper on super-tight jeans with pliers for extra grip since the 60s.
Indeed we did.
Also, when I worked Saturdays in Portobello Road (London) as a teenager in the 70s, it was perfectly normal to see legs sticking out from under the changing cubicles' swing doors in all the jean "boutiques". You always tried on jeans flat on your back.
posted by Jody Tresidder at 9:36 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Indeed we did.
Also, when I worked Saturdays in Portobello Road (London) as a teenager in the 70s, it was perfectly normal to see legs sticking out from under the changing cubicles' swing doors in all the jean "boutiques". You always tried on jeans flat on your back.
posted by Jody Tresidder at 9:36 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
A friend tried to teach me how to wear tight jeans in 1979. I failed. But then someone figured out how to mix elastane into denim and the rest is history.
posted by mumimor at 11:35 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 11:35 AM on June 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I just can't wrap my head into the mindset that dresses are for women and pants are scandalous. Like, there's a functionality to dresses and pants that works well for using the bathroom...in the 1500s or whatever. A man needs to aim, a woman can squat. Okay...so then...we invent toilets and toilet seats. And, in fact, voluminous dresses are a pain when it comes to sitting on a toilet. See any bride in huge skirts trying to navigate the church restroom stall. I mean, she wouldn't like you peeking at her but you would both have a great laugh. Pants are clearly superior for anything you must astride: horses, bicycles, motorcycles. Skirts can be dangerous around some machinery. But, WTF couldn't a woman wear pants in school? Like there's clearly a focus on sex and banging here that is so f-ed up. It's "gross" for a woman to have split trousers because then you might think of her alluring hollows and lose your goddamn male mind. I mean, covering of hair, covering of faces, covering of hands has been a thing in the past and in current day to keep women from turning men wild with passion such that they forget that they were supposed to be at war, or polishing someone's shoes or whatever. But how does that translate into the courtroom? 'Female lawyers must wear skirts' was a thing for so very long. Children's uniforms are 'skirts for girls.' Of course, an added advantage of pants for women and girls is of course to protect our intimate parts from those who would force themselves on us. Is that really why this persists? Can we not handle a woman being allowed to climb a ladder without showing us her panties? Can we not handle a young girl doing cartwheels and enjoying life without a boy trying to cop a feel? Can we simply not take the fact that it's impossible to practice law without someone getting a good look at your ankles? My mom said they were only allowed to wear pants to school if it had snowed more than four inches the day before. And they'd have to wear them under their dresses.
Also, goddamnit bring back pockets for women. Ugh.
posted by amanda at 3:42 PM on June 29, 2023
Also, goddamnit bring back pockets for women. Ugh.
posted by amanda at 3:42 PM on June 29, 2023
Dresses and skirts with useful pockets should be de rigor and I don't know why they haven't been for 200 years.
Also, moving fashion beyond the skin-tight denim that seems to be required for women but not for men would make those pockets actually useful for women.
Like, I get why women wear overalls. I like them because they're sort of loose and fun to wear. For women, they have pockets that actually function. And that's beyond all the "stare at my figure" things that other items of clothing invite/require. Tight jeans, with or without elastic woven in, included.
[I will say, during my times going to Gay Rodeos, which are a thing, I did come to appreciate Lee Jeans and their included stretch. There truly is nothing like a Lee Jeans Butt. That was a marketing thing by them at some point in the past, I'm certain.]
posted by hippybear at 3:57 PM on June 29, 2023
Also, moving fashion beyond the skin-tight denim that seems to be required for women but not for men would make those pockets actually useful for women.
Like, I get why women wear overalls. I like them because they're sort of loose and fun to wear. For women, they have pockets that actually function. And that's beyond all the "stare at my figure" things that other items of clothing invite/require. Tight jeans, with or without elastic woven in, included.
[I will say, during my times going to Gay Rodeos, which are a thing, I did come to appreciate Lee Jeans and their included stretch. There truly is nothing like a Lee Jeans Butt. That was a marketing thing by them at some point in the past, I'm certain.]
posted by hippybear at 3:57 PM on June 29, 2023
I can't stand modern stretchy jeans. I count on denim to hold both its shape and mine. All my jeans are old and secondhand.
Mom says she remembers that women's jeans used to zip up the side instead of the front. And she told me that her older brothers were sent home from school for wearing jeans, and Grandma had to open a charge account to buy them chinos (which they had to change out of as soon as they got home).
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:58 PM on June 29, 2023
Mom says she remembers that women's jeans used to zip up the side instead of the front. And she told me that her older brothers were sent home from school for wearing jeans, and Grandma had to open a charge account to buy them chinos (which they had to change out of as soon as they got home).
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:58 PM on June 29, 2023
I think what I'm saying is, women should be given the choice to have jeans that fit however they want, but I don't see women wearing jeans much that aren't so tight they are just a cotton body stocking. Are jeans available for women that aren't like that, that fit more like men's jeans, and am I just not noticing women wearing them if they do exist?
posted by hippybear at 3:58 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 3:58 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Affordable jeans for women pretty much suck these days. I can't buy the same pair of jeans from the same manufacturer in the same store on the same day (often), forget about over years. There are probably brands that don't do this as much but the old go-to stalwarts have now maximized their profits such that you may have a stack of "same" jeans that all come from different factories and with that slight variation and even variation among fabric blends and dye lots. Even looser jeans for women can frequently be robbed of pockets. Why? It's cheaper. You can charge the same but save some fabric. A lot of the fashion the past couple years have raw edges. I just looked up a pair of cotton pants I want to buy again (I've worn them a lot and they are wearing out). The price is $90 and they've changed the style a bit to give a raw hem. I don't want a raw hem. Is raw hem "in" or is it just cheaper?
It was a revolution when jeans makers starting making jeans and pants especially for women with their curves taken into account. But it's really hard to find the same value in women's clothing across the board and probably especially so in denim.
posted by amanda at 5:31 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
It was a revolution when jeans makers starting making jeans and pants especially for women with their curves taken into account. But it's really hard to find the same value in women's clothing across the board and probably especially so in denim.
posted by amanda at 5:31 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
It was a revolution when jeans makers starting making jeans and pants especially for women with their curves taken into account.
And sometimes even then they don’t fit! I have a very pronounced pear shape, and I haven’t been able to find a comfortable pear of jeans in literal years. I’ve tried on probably dozens of pairs in a variety of brands and styles and in at least two countries in the past decade. The “curvy” style is a joke if my petite yet shapely calves can’t even get into the leg hole.
Guess what actually fit like a glove the other day? Levi’s 505. For men.
posted by lesser weasel at 12:45 AM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
And sometimes even then they don’t fit! I have a very pronounced pear shape, and I haven’t been able to find a comfortable pear of jeans in literal years. I’ve tried on probably dozens of pairs in a variety of brands and styles and in at least two countries in the past decade. The “curvy” style is a joke if my petite yet shapely calves can’t even get into the leg hole.
Guess what actually fit like a glove the other day? Levi’s 505. For men.
posted by lesser weasel at 12:45 AM on June 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Guess what actually fit like a glove the other day? Levi’s 505. For men.
Yes! I can't afford a new pair (and the new ones are slightly stretchy, which, see above), but I used to have an old pair I loved. And the legs were actually long enough!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:59 AM on June 30, 2023
Yes! I can't afford a new pair (and the new ones are slightly stretchy, which, see above), but I used to have an old pair I loved. And the legs were actually long enough!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:59 AM on June 30, 2023
If you can't afford clothing store retail prices for Levis, or any jeans really, you should see if there is a Farm And Ranch store in your area. They typically sell jeans for maybe half the price of mall stores.
posted by hippybear at 5:09 AM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 5:09 AM on June 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Alternate Nitter.it link for non-Twitter users blocked out from Twitter content.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:59 AM on June 30, 2023
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:59 AM on June 30, 2023
> Even as late as the year 1984, the idea of lady jeans could still evoke at least a hint of scandal
Not lady jeans but men jeans hinting at scandal: there's a whole thing in 50 Shades of Grey where what's-his-name goes and puts on his jeans before they have sex. Look what a rebel he is, he owns jeans. I don't remember if what's-her-name also owns jeans or if she's too proper.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:08 PM on July 2, 2023
Not lady jeans but men jeans hinting at scandal: there's a whole thing in 50 Shades of Grey where what's-his-name goes and puts on his jeans before they have sex. Look what a rebel he is, he owns jeans. I don't remember if what's-her-name also owns jeans or if she's too proper.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:08 PM on July 2, 2023
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posted by hippybear at 12:27 PM on June 28, 2023 [10 favorites]